Viveka Borum wants to see more women of color in STEM

Her largest wish for people who look like her is for them to
have confidence.

Viveka Borum, a 36-year-old professor at Spelman College was
used to being the only black woman in the room and never imagined being in the
position she is in now.

She’s the first-generation to graduate college in her
family, born to blue-collar parents who never wanted her to work in a factory.

She was “almost always the only black female in” her college
courses at Wayne State University and Columbia University.

“[The racial divide] was very intimidating, but I never
considered leaving because of it. Failure is not an option for me,” Borum said.

Lack of African American support was a struggle for Viveka,
she had no one who looked like her to mentor her. No one who understood why her
position was such a huge deal, and no one who could relate to her. Still, Borum
pushed on. Her individuality was her driving force.

At Columbia University,
Dr. Borum conducted extensive research on African Americans in mathematics, and
noticed the lack of diversity in the STEM fields. She also saw the lack of
conversation on HBCU’s producing more STEM graduates than PWI’s. Viveka wanted
the world to know that Black people have been and can be successful in STEM
jobs.

Studies done by the National Institutes of Health show that
the top ten producers of students who graduate with their doctorate in STEM
attend HBCU’s. Still, statistics from the New Republic show that Black people
only hold 6% of the jobs in the STEM field.

“I wanted to know why there weren’t a lot of black students
in STEM.”

This interest in People of Color in STEM, as well as a love
for “A Different World” (a show filmed on Spelman and Morehouse’s campus) made
her teaching at Spelman inevitable. In 2012, Borum began as a professor at the
prestigious HBCU.

Dr. Borum is deeply spiritual, believing that “her faith
guided her to Spelman.”

Through her faith, she has created “an environment of acceptance,
love, and learning through mistakes,” for the young women.

Borum always had high aspirations for herself and recalls,
“I used to want to be a lawyer, then an anesthesiologist, never a teacher
though.”

When she attended her first math class at Wayne State
though, Viveka knew she had found her true passion.

“I just fell in love
with it.”

The ambitious young Borum, after receiving her bachelor’s
and master’s degrees in Mathematics, decided to enter Columbia University’s
doctoral program in mathematics education. Though it was a lot of work, Viveka
successfully graduated in 2010.

Borum doesn’t go easy on the young women, often reminding
them they’ll have to work twice as hard.

“They need to know that, and that they can do it.”

Viveka knows that “Just because you don’t see someone who
looks like you in your field, doesn’t mean you can’t be in that field.”

She is committed to fighting for People of Color and helping
them be successful in whatever field they choose.